


Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (And Reunite With Their Estranged Family)

by VulpixSinistre



Category: H.I.V.E. Series - Mark Walden
Genre: Fantober, Fantober2020, Lucy’s 5 here, family time!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27256960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VulpixSinistre/pseuds/VulpixSinistre
Summary: Fantober day 5: Sleepover!It’s been years since the Contessa has last spoken with her daughter. She’s never even met her granddaughter. She hopes a visit can change that.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (And Reunite With Their Estranged Family)

**Author's Note:**

> This took longer than I thought haha. 
> 
> AU-ish.

The Contessa peered through the car’s tinted window and eyed the small house across the street apprehensively. Of all the missions that had taken her away from H.I.V.E., this one had made her the most nervous. Low chance of success, high probability that it would end in disaster. She did not expect that the occupants would be happy to see her, nor that she would be welcomed inside. Nevertheless, she was determined to do what she came here to do and would not take no for an answer. 

Steeling herself, she stepped outside the car and marched across the street and up the sidewalk, past the little garden full of a variety of herbs and flowers she didn’t know the names of, and stopped at the front door. 

A deep breath. 

Another deep breath. 

She straightened up and knocked sharply three times. 

_How long should I wait before I leave?_ she thought. _They probably aren’t even here right now. I should come back later. Yes, that’s exactly what I-_

“Coming!” called a voice from inside. The Contessa winced ever so slightly before composing herself once more. She clasped her hands in front of herself and waited. She could just make out the faint sound of approaching footsteps when the door flew open and she found herself staring into the eyes of someone she hadn’t seen in years. The Contessa half-smiled and croaked out a weak ‘hello.’

The owner of the house had answered the door with a bright smile, which turned into a look of confusion, then finally shock and dismay as she recognized who exactly her visitor was. 

“ _Mother?_ ”

* * *

“I don’t know why you even came here. Or why you’d think I’d ever care to see you again.”

“If you would just listen to me-“

“I’ve already heard enough from you, and none of it’s been good enough to convince me of anything.”

This was going just about as poorly as she had expected. 

Before leaving for H.I.V.E. (long before that, honestly), the relationship between the Contessa and her daughter had been strained. Which was a nicer way of saying that her daughter was disgusted by everything she did, and the Contessa had made no moves to understand her daughter’s point of view at all, instead trying to force her to uphold the family name and all it stood for. The breaking point between them had been a long and ferocious argument that ended in her daughter moving to a boarding school in England, and the Contessa accepting a position at H.I.V.E. shortly after.

As the years went by, she found herself regretting how these events had transpired more and more. Which led up to this moment: a visit to England to attempt to reconcile with her daughter - Olivia - that had so far been yet another argument. Maria couldn’t blame her for the distrust, not really, and was trying her hardest to show that she only had good intentions this time around. 

The back-and-forth continued; frantic, emotional, yet never loud. Olivia stood before her, fists and teeth clenched, face flashing between resolute and confused seemingly at random. Blue eyes staring back at her mother, so fierce, then suddenly so sad. Her dark hair curled slightly at chin length, she had always cut it down herself before it could get too long. 

“I want to be a part of your life again,” the Contessa tried explaining again. 

“‘Again?’ That would imply that you ever were at some point.”

“You aren’t being fair. I-“

A door slamming open at the other end of the house and a shout of “Mummy, guess what?!” interrupted them. Both women froze in place. The patter of footsteps sounded down the hallway. 

Olivia pointed firmly at the Contessa and whispered wildly, “Don’t you dare say anything awful to her. Not a word. Honestly, maybe you shouldn’t even tell her who you are.”

“But I want to be a part of her life, too, truly.” The Contessa bit her lip and uttered a word she couldn’t recall ever saying before. “Please.” Now _that_ gave Olivia reason to pause. 

A little girl rushed into the room, her hair tied back with ribbons into two ponytails bouncing along, and grabbed at Olivia’s skirt. She started to joyfully babble out whatever she had run in to say when she noticed the Contessa standing there. She took a step back to hide ever so slightly behind her mother and peered out at this stranger before her. 

“Mummy, who’s that?” she stage whispered. 

Maria stared back into those all too familiar blue eyes and felt a lump in her throat. No one answered for a moment, until Olivia let out a lengthy sigh and nodded slightly. 

Maria smiled at the little girl and told her, in an admittedly shaky voice, “I am your grandmother.”

The child’s eyes widened in understanding. “My grandma? My grandma!!” She jumped up and dashed over with a big grin showing off the gaps of missing baby teeth. “I really DO have a grandma! That’s so cool! I didn’t know it was you, I thought you were a vampire or something, but you’re not, you’re YOU, an’ now you’re HERE!” 

Maria could only stand helplessly, absolutely baffled at the young child dancing around before her. The teenagers at H.I.V.E. were one thing, but children, with their never ending energy and boundless excitement, were another thing entirely. “I- er-“

“My name’s Lucy! That’s L-U-C-Y, not L-U-C-I-E. Actually it’s L-U-C-I-A an’ it says ‘Lucia’ but that’s a secret,” Lucy continued, holding a finger up to her lips to signify the secret. “But you can know cuz you’re family. Right, Mummy?”

Olivia smiled in a way that didn’t reflect in her tired eyes. “Yes, pumpkin, I suppose she can.” She inhaled sharply and spoke again in a measured tone. “Your grandmother is going to stay for a little bit until bedtime, and then _maybe_ she can come back tomorrow, but she _definitely_ has to leave by tomorrow night.” She glanced over at the Contessa with those last words and her nose scrunched up with a minuscule display of disgust. No, she wasn’t thrilled about this at all. But this was progress already, allowing the Contessa to stay and talk with Lucy. 

Maria tried again to smile and bent down to be closer to her granddaughter. “So you’ve got to be, what, nine years old?”

Lucy held up one hand with all her fingers stretched out. “I’m five!”

“Oh. O-kay. And what do you like to do?”

As Lucy rattled on and on about her favorite toys, games, and television shows, the Contessa looked more and more confused. None of these sounded familiar at all. You don’t exactly get the chance to keep up with the latest trends when you’re living at a school for villains closed off from the outside world. And even if she hadn’t been, she wasn’t one to indulge in childish activities. Olivia seemed to be amused by her mother’s increasing discomfort, snorting out a laugh and making no move to explain anything. 

“Hey wait a minute!” Lucy cut off her own story to exclaim. “Where’re you gonna sleep tonight?”

“Oh,” Maria blinked at the conversation whiplash, “I have a… hotel room nearby.” Easier to say that than ‘secret safe house with armed guards.’

“You should stay with us!” Before either woman could jump in to explain why no, that would be a terrible idea, Lucy squealed and spun around. “A SLEEPOVER! We can have a sleepover! Oh please please please please pleeeeeaaase?”

“I don’t think your mother would like that very much,” the Contessa told her gently, having already noticed the pained look on her daughter’s face. 

“Mummy, please?” Lucy clasped her hands under her chin, puppy dog eyes and pouty lip going full force. 

Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, thinking it over. “Fine.”

“YAY!”

“Really?” She should have been pleased, but the Contessa found herself stunned. 

“Okay, it’s my sleepover, so I get to be in charge. But you can bring us snacks if you wanna.” Lucy told her mother. “Lemme go get some games.”

Maria watched her run off then turned back to her daughter. “No, really?”

“I’m still not sure about… a lot of things… and I haven’t decided if I want you to visit again after tomorrow. But I’ll think about it tonight.” She pushed her hair behind her ears and sighed again. “Come see me after she falls asleep and we can try discussing it civilly. After you let me say what I’ve been wanting to say all these years.”

“Hold on,” Maria raised a hand up in a stopping motion. “You’re leaving me in charge?”

“I’ll be in my room if you need me. Like I said, I need time to think. Besides, I know Lucy would like this. After all,” she added sadly, ”you are the only other family she has now.”

“I’m not certain about this,” Maria admitted, brow furrowed. “I’m not very good with children.”

Olivia fixed her with a cold stare before turning around to leave. “I know.”

* * *

Lucy stumbled into the living room hidden behind the armful of pillows and blankets she carried. She dropped them all into a pile on the floor and started organizing them into two beds. “You can use my purple blanket! It’s really cozy.”

  
“We’re sleeping on the floor?” the Contessa asked, confused. 

“Yep! That’s what you do in a sleepover.” 

“Hmm.” That did not sound appealing in the least. But if that’s what it takes to be a part of the family, she supposed she could lay on the floor all night. She wouldn’t like it, but she could do it. 

“Let’s do our hair!” shouted Lucy. She zoomed into another room and zipped right back carrying a basket filled with headbands, hair accessories, and a brush. “My turn first! Make mine look like yours.” 

* * *

This was a terrible idea. A colossal mistake. Olivia paced back and forth across her bedroom until she felt she would burn a hole in the lavender throw rug she bought to match her new wallpaper. She felt like kicking something but didn’t want to scuff the furniture. Instead she gave her heel a quick stomp and flung herself onto the bed, hands tangled in her hair. Why had she agreed to let her mother stay the night? Her rude, devious, distant mother who was only ever out for her own gain? Could someone like that change, Olivia wondered. She wasn’t so sure. Oh, why hadn’t she just slammed the door shut in her?

She had half a mind to march out there right now and demand that her mother leave at once. At yet, there was that one little nagging feeling inside her, that just didn’t seem to go away; a part of her that remembered the good times they shared, and yearned for more. 

Perhaps she had allowed her mother to stay with Lucy tonight for the very same reason she had given her custody of Lucy in her will: she believed deep down that, given the opportunity, her mother would finally cease putting herself first and give her granddaughter the protection and care she needed. Was this thought misguided? Maybe. But Olivia hoped not. 

All these thoughts bounced around in her head like the time when Lucy dumped a bucket of bouncy balls down the staircase. Her grip of her hair tightened and she let out a whine that buried itself in her bedsheets. There was a choice to make, and it had to be made soon. 

Loud laughter stirred her away from her thoughts. Curiosity got the best of her and she rolled off the bed, tiptoed out the door and peered past the wall. Lucy - hair now styled in a big bun at the top of her head - was cackling from her perch in the back of the couch as she clipped bows into her grandmother’s hair. The Contessa, seated on the couch, was trying to adjust the polka dotted headband pushed too low on her forehead and reach back with her other hand to keep the child from falling. 

“You’re so BAD at jokes! Those aren’t funny!”

“Well why are you laughing then- Hey! Lean forward, or you’re going to slip.”

“I’m laughing cuz they’re so BAD! Dontcha know any knock knock jokes?”

Olivia clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle an involuntary laugh. It appeared things were going fine… so far. Maybe this could work. Too soon to tell, but maybe. For Lucy’s sake, she hoped it did. 

* * *

“What’s that on your eye?”

“This?” Maria ran a finger over the edge of her monocle. “It’s called a monocle. It helps me see better.”

Lucy tilted her head to the side. “So… you only got one because you don’t have enough money for glasses?”

“W- What? No. No, that isn’t how it works.”

“Okay.” Lucy turned her attention back to her cards, apparently not interested in an explanation. 

After doing hair, being introduced to all her dolls, and other activities that included ‘watch me do this dance I learned in ballet’ and ‘let’s draw dinosaurs driving race cars,’ they settled down at the kitchen table to play a game that involved being the first to reach zero cards. The Contessa recalled that it was considered polite to let children win, so she held onto multiple ‘draw four’ cards in silence while Lucy slammed Skips and Reverses down one after the other with an over-the-top maniacal laugh. 

The Contessa hemmed and hawed at her remaining cards as if it were a challenging decision. She pretended as though she would pick a certain card, then act like she’d changed her mind and reach for another. Lucy giggled excitedly and waited to strike. The second it was her turn she slammed the last card on the table and shouted, “I WIN!” 

“You played spectacularly.” 

“Spec-ac-ulaly. Spect-act-allury.” Lucy sounded out this new word with her head curiously tilted to the side. “Does that mean I did good?”

“It does, yes!” The Contessa beamed at her and enunciated the word slower until she repeated it correctly. “Very good!”

Lucy giggled again, delighted at the praise. “Thank you.”

A small digital clock on the side table beeped to announce the time, followed a second later by the chiming of the grandfather clock echoing down the hallway. 

“Is that the time already?” The Contessa counted the chimes. “It’s getting late, isn’t it about your bedtime?”

“Wait! My favorite show is on!” Lucy stood up on the kitchen chair and leapt down, running - how does she still have so much energy? isn’t she tired yet? - full speed back into the living room. “Come on, you gotta watch it with me! It’s, um, spectacularly!”

Amused, Maria followed her slower and settled onto the couch, tucking a throw pillow behind her head. For her, at least, this had been an exhausting day. Lucy grabbed the remote and flicked the television on, flopping back into the spot right next to her. Once she had flipped to the right channel, she tossed the remote aside and curled up at her grandmother’s side, hugging her left arm tightly. Maria looked down at her now trapped arm in surprise. 

“You’re not as mean as my mum said you were.” Lucy said this casually, resting her head against the Contessa. 

Maria found herself unable to speak for a moment. “I’m not so sure about that,” she finally whispered, voice drowned out by the show’s opening credits. 

* * *

The closing song played, the picture faded out, and Lucy yawned. She could barely keep her eyes open. “That was… was a good episode, huh?” she mumbled. 

“Oh, yes, definitely.” The Contessa hadn’t understood a single thing that went on. “And now, I do believe it’s time for bed.”

Lucy nodded sleepily, scooting off the couch and trudging over to her sleeping bag. The Contessa followed reluctantly, planning to lay in her spot until the young girl fell asleep, so she could sneak away and have a talk with her daughter. She lowered herself to the floor and reached out for the purple blanket and - well, what do you know, Lucy was right, it was rather comfortable. She settled in, planning out what she would say to Olivia, when Lucy’s voice broke through the silence. 

“G’night. I love you.”

In the pitch black living room, lying on the floor, the Contessa stared blankly up at the ceiling and opened and closed her mouth a few times. By the time she was able to respond, Lucy was already sound asleep. 


End file.
